Xi: senior officers must ‘stay pure’ to meet Chinese military’s centenary goal

Following the sweeping anti-corruption drive within the Chinese military, President Xi Jinping on Wednesday urged its senior officers to deepen ideological rectification and political refining for a “brand new look” to celebrate the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) centenary next year.

Xi told the officers to maintain resolute political loyalty to the party and said that any thought or action driven by self-interest or corruption was “fundamentally against the Communist Party’s nature and purpose”, state media reported.

“Senior military officers must take the lead in restoring and promoting the fine traditions of our party and military … It is essential to understand discipline, be clear about rules and norms, and maintain a sense of reverence,” he said.

“We must ensure that everyone is equal before laws and regulations, with no special treatment in compliance and no exceptions in enforcement.”

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Xi added that the PLA must “always stay pure” to meet its centenary goal, set for August 2027. Beijing has kept the details of its expectations vague. However, in his 2022 work report to the 20th party congress, Xi linked the goal to the PLA’s ability to “win local war”.

He was speaking at the opening ceremony of a training course for senior military cadres from across the armed forces at the National Defence University in Beijing. The event was live-streamed across the PLA’s high-level units.

South China Morning Post